EUREKA - Oliver Oviatt found

Unlike internet research of today a location as well as a name was needed to begin. I knew that my father was born in Iowa, and felt pretty sure that my grandfather was also born in Iowa. Since he was born in the mid 1880's the logical place to start would be the 1890 census.

Sadly, most of the original 1890 population schedules were destroyed or badly damaged by a fire in the Commerce Department in 1921. Records enumerating only 6,160 individuals—less than one percent of the schedules—survived. Unfortunately, Iowa data was lost, which meant I needed to start with 1900.

My excitement was hard to contain when I found a listing for Oliver V Oviatt in Boone County, Iowa. The listing referenced the number of the roll and the location of the listing. Being a "newbie" to the world of microfilmed data I quickly learned to thread the reels onto the reader and scan through to my desired page.

BINGO - there he was.

1900 United States Federal Census, Cass Township, Boone County, Iowa,  pg 29A, line 41

Photocopying the actual pages wasn't possible at that time. It was necessary to transcribe the data onto paper forms (only pencils were allowed - no pens). Care had to be taken to make sure the data was transcribed correctly. Each corresponding line had to be copied - tedious work, but none-the-less exciting. So much can be learned by analyzing each entry, each line and each mark. In today's genealogy world it is easy to become a lazy family historian. If the only form of research is importing data into a software program a connection can be missed.

It is now possible to download copies and save them directly onto a hard-drive or insert the image into a family tree. Don't misunderstand - this is fantastic if used in conjunction with traditional sources. I started using Family Tree Maker in the early 1990's (version 1) and have upgraded over the years. I thought about changing software platforms but decided to stay put. I believe I am using FTM 2010.

In addition to Oliver I also found Roxie, my great grandmother, my grandfather, Charles L and his siblings.

Wow - what a find! 

Little did I know that the "iceberg" loomed below.